Roast pumpkin and shallot tart with harissa and cumin dressing

Name: Roast pumpkin and shallot tart with harissa and cumin dressing
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 1 x 320g sheet shortcrust pastry (I used Careme); 1kg Japanese pumpkin, cut into similar sized wedges, seeds removed; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp maple syrup; 8 eschalots (French shallots), peeled and halved lengthways; ¾ cup Persian-style feta; chopped coriander leaves, to scatter

Katrina Meynink

December 7, 2022

Pumpkin, feta and shallot tart.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:6-8

This tart travels well, and tastes like a dream as a vegetarian main at Christmas or a simple affair with a salad and glass of icy-cold plonk, should the moment call. I've overestimated the pumpkin because you'll play a bit of Tetris adding the pieces into your tart; and to be fair, leftover chunks of roasted pumpkin are never a bad thing. You can use either Japanese or butternut pumpkin, both varieties make for excellent roasting and hold their shape in this tart.

Ingredients

1 x 320g sheet shortcrust pastry (I used Careme)
1kg Japanese pumpkin, cut into similar sized wedges, seeds removed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
8 eschalots (French shallots), peeled and halved lengthways
¾ cup Persian-style feta
chopped coriander leaves, to scatter

Harissa and cumin dressing

3 tbsp harissa
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp honey

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
Step 2
Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Step 3
Add the pumpkin pieces to a large tray lined with baking paper and drizzle over the olive oil and maple syrup. Add the shallots and give everything a good turn with your hands to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper, then roast for 45 minutes or until golden in spots and cooked through, but not to the point of collapse. The shallots should be soft and completely cooked. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Step 4
Roll out pastry to 3mm thick, place in a 28cm-diameter, 2.5cm-deep loose-bottomed fluted tart tin, pressing the pastry against the sides and trimming the edges. Blind bake the pastry case using paper and pastry weights (15-20 minutes), then remove paper and weights and bake until golden (15-20 minutes). Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
Step 5
Once cooled, smear the feta across the base of the tart. Top with the roasted shallots and then arrange the pumpkin pieces. There is no exact science here – just pop them in however best you see fit. If you cannot stand to eat the pumpkin skin, peel it off after roasting, and before you place the pieces in the tart – however it's useful here, not only for taste and texture, but because it helps the pumpkin wedges hold their shape.
Step 6
Brush the dressing over the pumpkin until coated and pop in the oven for about 8-15 minutes or until the tart is warm. Scatter with coriander, season with salt and pepper and serve.